Procedures have been developed to help identify early signs of cognitive decline and detect Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms arise.
Procedures have been developed to help identify early signs of cognitive decline and detect Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms arise.
Andrew Kiselica, an Assistant Professor of Health Psychology in the US, is behind the research that looks at datasets from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Centre.
He examined more than 400 individuals who had been declared “cognitively normal,” and particularly focused on 101 of these individuals who had a buildup of amyloid plaque in the brain, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
After analysing test results that provided data on their memory and attention, caregiver observations of signs of cognitive decline, and neurobehavioural symptoms, like anxiety and depression, Kiselica found that those with the amyloid plaque in their brain were more likely to show Alzheimer’s-related symptoms compared with those without the amyloid plaque, as expected.
More significantly, Kiselica found that 42% of those with the amyloid plaque showed no signs of cognitive decline at all.
“We have developed clear procedures for classifying individuals who are asymptomatic or symptomatic in the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” Kiselica said. “This is important because if a drug to treat Alzheimer’s is approved by the FDA down the road, the drug will likely be most effective on those with Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain but no outward signs of cognitive decline yet.”
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